In 2002 Google launched a page with a set of guidelines for site owners that gave an overview of best practices when it came to building a site. Google called this page «Webmaster Guidelines» and it’s been with us ever since. Since then Google added a lot of information to these guidelines to help site owners build the site that’s right for their users who visit through Google Search. A lot has changed since 2002, so today on October 13, Google launched a refreshed, simplified version of the Webmaster Guidelines, and they’re changing its name as well.
Google moved away from using the term «webmaster» in the name of this site (stop looking: it’s Search Central) and the only remainder was the «Webmaster Guidelines». As we mentioned previously, «webmaster» is an outdated term and very few people identify with it. For the new name they wanted something generic, something that’s not focusing on just one slice of our visitors, but rather all creators on the internet who wish to see their content in Google Search. We also wanted the new name to highlight the importance of the points covered on these pages. That’s how they landed on the new name: Google Search Essentials.
What’s changed
The refresh comes with a few changes. Since the whole Search Central site is, by definition, a set of guidelines and best practices, Google simplified the site by moving many of the former guidelines to specific sections where they belong. Then, they introduced a categorization of the points covered in the former Webmaster Guidelines:
A new focused section on the technical requirements
The technical requirements are few and simple: publish content in a format that Google can index, and allow Google to access that content. This is the bare minimum for getting into Google’s search results; Google does realize however that there’s more to getting your site indexed and served, and they encourage creators to also think about the key best practices.
Spam Policies: more examples and new topics
The spam policies cover common forms of spam and behavior that could lead to a site ranking lower or not appearing at all in Google web search results. Most topics were taken from the former «Quality Guidelines» and other closely related existing guidelines published on Search Central that were originally stand-alone, like malware and hacked content. The new additions and notable modifications are:
- New deceptive behavior related-topics such as misleading functionality
- New section on other behaviors that can lead to demotion and or removal, such as online harassment, and scam and fraud
- Consolidated topics related to link spam and thin content
Google asked the Search Quality team to rewrite the content to address spam that they see on the internet today, and when possible, use more precise language, and add more concrete examples that are relevant in 2022. Google believes that they delivered and the new version will help site owners avoid creating content that Search users absolutely hate.
Key best practices for success
Finally, the key best practices are a set of practices that Google believes people really should consider when creating sites. While following the requirements can get (and keep!) sites in Search, it’s the best practices that breathe life into sites so they can be more easily found through Search.
You might have also noticed that over the past couple of months Google has been moving pages around on Search Central. they organized the information into a more logical structure, and consolidated similar pages, but generally they haven’t changed the content.
Google hopes the new set of Search Essentials is useful and easier to understand, and that it will help you focus on things that matter for your site. If you have any questions, leave a comment on Twitter or in the Search Central Help forums.
Credits
- This was first posted on the Google Developers Blog
- Main picture courtesy of John Schnobrich
